Variation of Subsurface Resistivity
in the Pan-African Belt of Central Africa
Dieudonné Bisso, Zakari Arétouyap, Georges Nshagali Biringanine,
Philippe Njandjock Nouck, and Jamal Asfahani
Abstract
50 Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) and 180 Hori-
zontal Soundings (HS) were carried out in the
Pan-African geological setting of Central Africa in order
to explain the behavior of the electrical signal in this
context. Results highlight the presence of very high
resistivity values in some locations (greater than
300 kXm) and large amplitude of resistivity dropping in
other sites. Further geological and tectonic investigation
shows that higher resistivity values match with the
gneiss-granitic nature of the substratum while lower
values are due to the presence of faults, shears, and
alteration of ultramafic rocks as well as the presence of
sedimentary rocks and deformation phases in the region.
Those low-resistivity areas can be exploited in the
groundwater exploration processing.




Keywords
Apparent resistivity VES HS Pan-African
Groundwater
1 Introduction
The basement abounds of countless natural resources (min-
ing, energy, water, etc.) necessary to improve the conditions
of human beings. These resources, of a fundamental impor-
tance, are usually arranged randomly and discreetly. For this
D. Bisso
Z. Arétouyap (&)
P. Njandjock Nouck
Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812
Yaounde, Cameroon
e-mail: aretouyap@gmail.com
G. Nshagali Biringanine
Department of Geology, Official University of Bukavu, 570,
Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo
J. Asfahani
Applied Geophysics Division, Atomic Energy Commission,
P.O. Box 6091 Damascus, Syria
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
F. Rossetti et al. (eds.), The Structural Geology Contribution to the Africa-Eurasia Geology:
Basement and Reservoir Structure, Ore Mineralisation and Tectonic Modelling,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01455-1_6
reason, there is a relative difficulty of access for humans. To
detect, locate, characterize and quantify these resources, the
geophysicist may start with geo-electrical methods, namely
in this case, VES and HS. Because of their reliability and
efficiency, these methods have been widely used by many
scientists and researchers since the 1960s [1–3].
Indeed, the behavior of an electrical signal depends on the
geological settings of the investigated area. The Pan-African is
a special geological context characterized by geological for-
mations the age of which spans from the Paleoarchean to the
late Neoproterozoic (Fig. 1). The Archaean (Congo Craton)
and Paleoproterozoic (Central African belt) evolution of the
crust are followed during the Neoproterozoic by the
Pan-African orogeny from which emanates the Pan-African
belt of Central Africa that extends from Congo to Brazil [4].
The main objective of this article is to clarify the vertical and
horizontal variations of the electrical signal in the Pan-African
particular geological context, using VES and HS.
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Ohm’s Law
Ohm’s law in its general form is written as expressed in
Eq. 1:
! !
j ¼ rE ð1Þ
!
where j is the current density per unit area; r the electric
!
conductivity and E the electric field.
Across an ohmic conductor or resistance R carrying a
current of intensity I at a voltage U, this law is written in its
macroscopic form given by Eq. 2.
U ¼ RI ð2Þ
The resistance of a medium is strongly dependent on its
geometry but gives no direct information on the nature and
25
26 D. Bisso et al.

m P-13 P-24 P-27 P-28 P-31

(a.s.l)
1200

6937
1683 3328
1195 656 246

1190

1185 212 129

100

1185

1180 117 345 3926 341

2024

1175

1170

1165
0 5 10 km

Surface horizon Laterite Granite Sand Sandstone

100 Layer resistivity (Ω.m) VES location

Fig. 1 Simplified geological map of the study area [5] and an interpretative geological cross section along the A-B profile

dimensions of the material crossed by the electric current. It

is, therefore, necessary to introduce the concept of resistivity. 3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Vertical Variation

2.2 Resistivity
Figure 2 illustrates the variation of the apparent resistivity in
The resistivity q of a soil is strongly related to its intrinsic function of AB/2.
properties and depends mainly on the particle size and
porosity, water content, clay content, and mineralogy.
In the case of a quadrupole measuring device with two 3.2 Horizontal Variations
injection electrodes A and B and two receiving electrodes M
and N, the apparent resistivity qa is a function of the At each point of the remarkable fall of apparent resistivity,
potential difference measured between M and N, and a we associate a crack or an alteration of the basement. Hor-
geometric factor, denoted by k defined by Eq. 3 [6]. izontal soundings are then conducted in order to estimate the
scale of the alteration (Fig. 3). It is observed that the
2p amplitude of variation of apparent resistivity along a given
k¼ 1 1 1 1

ð3Þ
AM  BM  AN þ BN profile is huge and can sometimes reach a thousand
ohm-meters.
Thus, the apparent resistivity is expressed in Eq. 4.
Remarkable drops of apparent resistivity can be explained
UMN on the one hand by the presence of two main phases of
qa ¼ k ð4Þ deformation in the region [7] and on the other hand by the
I
presence of faults and shear zones highlighted by the studies

Fig. 2 An example of sounding

curves obtained in the study area
Variation of Subsurface Resistivity in the Pan-African …
Fig. 3 An example of resistivity variation along a horizontal profiling
of Dumont [8]. Indeed, the Central Cameroon Shear zone is
a major structure that would continue into the Gulf of Aden
[9] and extend to the Pernambuco fault in Northeast Brazil.
On the other hand, this can be explained by the presence of
sedimentary rocks and hydrothermal alteration of ultramafic
rocks in the region [10].
Those low-resistivity points are of utmost interest in the
field of hydrogeology because they are apparently associated
with high water-potential, and are important to groundwater
exploration and evaluation [1, 3].
4 Conclusions
The Pan-African realm is a geological setting essentially
marked by highly resistive materials because of its geolog-
ical background. However, one can observe abrupt and huge
resistivity drops because of some tectonic events like shears,
cracks, and faults. Resistivity values range from 15 Ω to
300 kΩ. These low-resistivity points can be exploited for
27
hydrological ends in all regions worldwide where the
Pan-African is extended.
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